Nonetheless, Rand attracted an ardent following in the 1960s, and her enduring accomplishment, according to some critics, was her creation of popular novels of ideas, including
The Fountainhead and
Atlas Shrugged, that continue to sell well decades after their publication. "Objections to Rand's philosophy might seem to disparage her achievement," observed George Gilder in
Chicago Tribune Book World. "But in fact, like every great thinker, she transcends her contradictions. In a world where most novelists lack any coherent philosophy at all, her work looms as a major triumph."
Rand was born Alice Rosenbaum in St. Petersburg, Russia, in 1905. During her early childhood her family was relatively affluent, living in a large apartment above her father's chemist shop. Rand's father was a self- made man; he had not been interested in becoming a chemist, but since one of the few Russian universities that enrolled Jews had an opening in that area, he took the opportunity to learn a profession. Rand recalled to Branden that she had little contact with her father as a young girl: "I felt a friendly respect for him in childhood, not a strong affection, a dutiful 'official' affection....
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